TOYOTA CROWNS THREE NEW CHAMPIONS IN A SENSATIONAL FINALE TO SEASON 7 OF THE VIOS CHALLENGE

SHAH ALAM, 7 JANUARY 2025 – Season 7 of Toyota GAZOO Racing’s Vios Challenge crowned three new champions after a nail-biting race weekend which rewarded the race winners and overall champions with more than RM300,000 in prize monies.

Drama defined the finale as the showdown at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit on Saturday and Sunday (4-5 Jan 2025) was nothing short of spectacular, with competitors in the Super Sporting, Sporting and Rookie Classes pushing to the very end to keep their championship hopes alive.

In the Super Sporting Class for professionals, young driver Naquib Azlan of Axle Sports claimed the overall championship title in a closely-contested battle dethroning defending champion and Prima Pearl TD Racing’s Mitchell Cheah who came in 2^nd overall. Overall 3^rd position went to Telagamas Toyota’s Freddie Ang. That achievement earned him RM80,000  with Cheah and Ang taking home RM60,000 and RM40,000 respectively. It was Naquib’s third successive overall championship win having clinched the overall titles in the Rookie Class and Sporting Class in 2021 and 2022 respectively. He finished second in 2023.

A drama-filled Race 2 saw Naquib and Cheah locked in a heatedly-contested 20–lap race which eventually resulted in the former retiring from the race and Cheah being handed down a 10-position penalty due to a sporting infringement.

The race was won by Laser Motor Racing’s Amer Harris who took the chequered flag with an unassailable lead ahead of Toyotsu Toyota’s William Ho and PS Otomobile’s Bradley Benedict            who finished 2^nd and 3^rd respectively.    

“I came into the championship missing the first round as a replacement for another driver who is unable to make it for the remaining rounds of the season and prior to that I had no seat time in the new car. Adaption was the key to define the whole season and we did our best to set-up the car as best we could for the entire season,” said Amer.

“The car handles well from the get go well compared to the previous generation Vios and as with any new race car, I am quite certain that it will be even further enhanced for the seasons moving forward.”

In Race 2 of the Sporting Class PCM Group Racing Team’s Kenneth Koh shot into the lead ahead of Kulim Topwheels’ Dato Ken Foo and BAE Racing by ES Yang’s Elson Lew in the opening stages of the 20-lap race.

Foo climbed 4 places at the start from 5^th on the grid in pursuit of Koh, but the lead grew consistently with the latter taking the chequered flag 5.6 seconds ahead, and Thailand driver Panithan Rakpaibulsombut representing RUK Team Nexzter PMC 52 finishing third. Biggest gainer on the grid was Race Rally KL’s Shafiq Samsudin who climbed 10 positions to finish 4^th. 

With the overall championship title involving Koh, Lew and Shafiq, victory in Race 2 was enough to propel Koh to win the overall championship title in the Sporting Class earning him a promotion to compete in the Super Sporting Class in the upcoming Season 8 and bagging RM60,000. Shafiq finished 2^nd overall with RM40,000 while Lew was placed 3^rd overall winning RM20,000.

“Finally…This is my seventh consecutive season competing in the Vios Challenge. The car and the set-up was just so good this weekend and winning the race is a great way to finish the season,” said Koh.

“Moving up to Super Sporting Class in Season 8 seems rather daunting but I’ll just have to try to be as good as the other drivers. You have to start somewhere. With the new generation Vios everyone is still trying to adapt and to find the sweet spot. It’s definitely a level up from the previous season vehicle with different gearbox, suspension, brakes and others so adapting to these enhancements has been challenging. I must thank everyone who has helped me through my journey from Season 1 to Season 7.”

Rookie Class Driver for Season 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Malaysia Vios Challenge.

The Rookie Class meanwhile, crowned 18-year-old competitive karter Adam Mikail as champion, with recreational karter Brandon Ho finishing 2^nd and simulator racer Raja Amirul Syauqat emerging 3^rd overall.

“The target that I set for myself coming into the Rookie Class was to win it and I extremely grateful that I have been able to achieve just that. It has been an incredibly challenging six rounds of racing in Season 7 and despite having prior racing experience both in karting and saloon cars, the competition was intense from the very beginning with every rookie being super competitive,” said Adam adding that he now looks forward to earning a seat to drive in the Sporting Class in Season 8.

“As a driver I’ve learnt so much and made tremendous progress throughout the season. Toyota’s Young Talent Development Program has not only given me the opportunity to compete in one of Malaysia’s best one-make series but it has contributed significantly to my growth as a driver. The program and the exposure provide a truly comprehensive insight, developing an individual’s skills on the track as well as aptitude.”

Organized by UMW Toyota Motor, the Vios Challenge has firmly established itself as the premier one-make saloon car race series in Malaysia emphasizing on driving skills and race craft as competitors take to the track in identically-prepared cars. This creates a level playing field and close quarters racing where even a driver as young as 16 years old has the chance of becoming a race winner and overall champion, as it was proven in Season 4 in 2020. Season 7 also gave a huge profile boost to the series when it attracted the participation of international drivers from Thailand, India and Singapore for the very first time.

UMW Toyota Motor remains as the only local car distributor/manufacturer to organize such as series and continues its investments in Malaysian motorsports since 2017. This has also expanded to the virtual world with the organizing of the GR GT Cup simulator racing series since 2017, and the introduction of the Young talent Development Program in 2021 to provide young karters and simulator racers with an avenue to transition into saloon car racing.

Season 7 which began in August last year, consisted of three rounds and six individual races offering a combined RM630,000 in prize monies. The event was broadcast live over UMW Toyota Motor’s social media platforms with more than 5 million viewers tuned into the race weekend finale.

For more information and to stay tuned to announcements on Season 8, log on to www.toyota.com.my/en/tgrmalaysia.

 

RACE RESULTS – DAY 2

SUPER SPORTING CLASS

1. Amer Harris                                   Laser Motor Racing

2. William Ho                                     Toyotsu Racing                 

3. Bradley Benedict                            PS Otomobile

SPORTING CLASS

1. Kenneth Koh                                 PCM Group Racing Team

2. Dato Ken Foo                                Kulim Topwheels

3. Panithan Rakpaibulsombut            RUK Team Nexzter PMC 52

 

ROOKIE CLASS

1. Brandon Ho

2. Adam Mikail

3. Kingston Tan

 

OVERALL CHAMPIONS – SEASON 7

Super Sporting Class                       Naquib Azlan                      Axle Sports

Naquib Azlan: Season 7 Super Sporting Class Overall Champions

Sporting Class                                  Kenneth Koh                       PCM Group Racing Team

Kenneth Koh: Season 7 Sporting Class Overall Champions

Rookie Class                                     Adam Mikail

Adam Mikail: Season 7 Rookie Class Overall Champions